Deputy economy minister: Ukraine's GDP hit $200 billion for first time in 30 years

Ukraine’s gross domestic product was $200 billion in 2021, the highest it's ever been since the country became independent in 1991, Deputy Minister of Economy Denys Kudin said on Jan. 28.

The country managed to hit this peak in spite of the setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic and close to eight years of being under attack by Russia and its proxies.

Last year's GDP was also a steep increase from 2020, when it was just $155 billion, according to the World Bank's figures.

Kudin pointed out the figure during a roundtable discussion with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), adding that Ukraine has achieved macroeconomic stability, “which is the foundation without which economic growth is impossible.”

“Ukraine has a record GDP of $200 billion, sufficient foreign exchange reserves, and an average salary increase of 21% – these are the indicators with which the Ukrainian economy ended 2021,” he wrote on Facebook soon after the meeting.

However, according to Kudin, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine, the global surge in gas prices and the weakening hryvnia have been “adverse factors” for Ukraine’s economy.

“As a result, we achieved economic growth of 3% of GDP in spite of the forecasted 4.6%,” he wrote.

Earlier in October, the National Bank of Ukraine downgraded the country’s economic growth forecast for 2021 from 3.8% to 3.1%, due to the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and increased gas prices.

The International Monetary Fund's projected that Ukraine's GDP would grow by 3.2% in 2022.

Russia's recent buildup of over 120,000 troops near Ukraine's borders in preparation for a possible invasion has hurt the economy.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Hr 12.5 billion ($446 million) in investments flowed out of Ukraine as a result of fear. The government has also had to dip into its reserves to stabilize the hryvnia, which fell to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in seven years on Jan. 27, closing at an exchange rate of Hr 28.95 per $1.

The president said Ukraine will need about $5 billion to stabilize the economy.